(Season 2, Episode 10 – “Chuck Versus the Delorean”) 
Not the most helpful of episode titles, but a very good episode nonetheless. Anna was back, but her return to the show meant some serious life decisions for Morgan. Is he up to the task of manning up and taking on real adult responsibilities? Look at the episode title again for a clue to that answer. We did get to see Captain Awesome showing some real human reactions other than general awesomeness, and it was nice to see him humanized a bit.
I like the diversity of the cast on Chuck, from Ellie and Awesome at home to the wacky gang at the Buy More (Jeff gets creepier by the episode) to our core favorites of Sarah, Chuck and Casey. What a great cast, and it’s amazing how seamlessly the writers manage to meld these three worlds into one souffle of entertainment. Tonight, the mysterious Sarah Walker’s past was revealed a tiny bit more with the inclusion of her father on the mission.
Granted, he didn’t know he was part of a CIA mission. Gary Cole played a great con man here, smart and conniving, though his latest score was a bit ambitious even for a master of the craft. The way the score went down reminded me a lot of TNT’s Leverage pilot, complete with commandeering someone else’s office space and changing the signs to match the fake business. A weird bit of synchronicity that.
I found myself rooting for Morgan and Anna to move in together for real because I think I’m ready for some progression for these characters. It’s been two seasons now and I need to see some growth. Yes, Morgan even dating Anna is progression but other than that everything is stagnating. I’m ready for Ellie and Awesome to get married already and I’m ready for Chuck to be able to grow in some way in his personal life.
While I’m waiting, I can’t complain about installments like this one. If the writers aren’t going to let me move forward with these characters I’m really growing to love, then at least they’re letting me look back. I hope before all is said and done, we’ll know the full story of Sarah Walker, and maybe even her real name. As for the Delorean? It seemed a bit of a throwaway gag even though it was instrumental in the ultimate capture of Amad. Too bad we didn’t get to see that chase sequence.
Clacked by Jason Hughes 
on Dec 09, 2008 @ 20:19 EST5EDT
We got Sarah’s real name in the Nicole Richie episode. Jenny Burton, I think it was.
*POST AUTHOR*
I thought we learned that episode that Jenny was another alias she was using at that time.
It is nice to see more people starting to enjoy Chuck. I’ve loved it since I saw the first previews and LMAO at the poorly disguised jabs at Best Buy (Buy More) and Geek Squad (Nerd Herd).
I think the show has gotten better in season 2. The episodes are funny and you care about the characters.
I have kept Chuck versus Tom Sawyer on my HTPC and watched it several times. I still crack up from the opening scene when Jeff is caught between the flashback to his record setting Missile Command memory and his present standing before the snack machine muttering under his breath “so many tasty options”. ROTFL!!
Then later in the episode as Casey is trying to tear them a new one for trying to organize a comeback for Jeff and get his old fans to attend. He’s saying that they are in their 40s now, They have jobs, wives, kids….. He looks over at Chuck and he’s got this pouty face shaking his head and you can just read his mind saying “No they don’t Casey” LMAO!!
Loved the episode. I’m a big fan of Gary Cole.
Jason, I’m surprised you didn’t mention the significance of “Jack Burton.” Got to love the shout out to Kurt Russell’s character in Big Trouble in Little China . Chuck is really similar to Psych with each show’s references to 1980s pop culture.